AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On Sunday, May 8, 2022, the introductory meeting of the members of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency was held in Tehran. In the meeting, which was chaired by Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the appointment letters of the members of the council were given to them by the Secretary-General.
ABNA must make news stream
At the beginning of the meeting, which was held on Sunday morning, May 8, 2022, in Tehran, referring to the approach of ABNA News Agency, Ayatollah Ramazani stated, “ABNA news agency should be the voice of the Shiites of the world by carefully analyzing the situation and taking an active stance. It should strive to correct extremist views, and to educate and enhance knowledgeable views to create rational logic.”
“ABNA News Agency must have excellent actions against the cultural invasion of the Western media empire. We need to be proactive in these areas, and our approaches must be active - not passive. To do this, we need to create a ‘news line’ and make ‘news stream’,” he continued.
“So far, the news agency has carried out this active approach and effective news stream, which needs to be increased. For example, during the events in Quetta, ABNA prevented a crisis,” stated the former president of the European Union of Shiite theologians.
“We need to introduce spirituality, justice and culture of resistance in a precise and comprehensive way. Resistance paves the way for the spread of divine mercy in the international community,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Referring to the need to pay attention to the “statement of the second phase of the Islamic Revolution”, Ayatollah Ramazani stated, “All the axes of the statement of the second phase of the Islamic Revolution can be a guide for us in the international arena. For example, the ethics and spirituality that are emphasized in this statement are very needed in the media today.”
“ABNA News Agency should have coordination and synergy with similar news agencies,” he emphasized, “This issue requires us to have a group of experts and thinkers in this news agency to work in the field of policymaking, planning and intellectual support of ABNA news agency. Therefore, the present team has been formed and other experts will be added in the future.”
“In the inspections carried out in the Assembly, the activities of ABNA have been evaluated as successful and emphasis has been placed on strengthening it. In this period of the Assembly’s management, we pay special attention to strengthening the five axes of local assemblies, missionaries, AhlulBayt (a.s.) University, ABNA News Agency, and WikiShia Encyclopedia,” pointed out, the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
After the speech of the Secretary-General, Hojat al-Islam Hosseini Aref, CEO of AhlulBayt (a.s.) News Agency-ABNA, presented a brief report on the approaches and manner of news policymaking of this agency in its 15 years of activity. Then Mr. Sharifi, Mr. Khojasteh, Mr. Zarean, Mr. Kalantari, and Mr. Rashid expressed their views.
Granting appointment letters
At the end of the meeting, the letters of appointment of the chairman and members of the policymaking and planning council of ABNA News Agency were granted to them.
The order of the Secretary-General of the Assembly - issued to Mr. Hosseini Aref, Khojasteh, Rashed, Zarean, Shariatmadar, Sharifi, Gholami, Farmanian and Kalantari, is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Almighty
Considering the importance and prominent role of ABNA News Agency in informing the important news and events of the Islamic world, especially the Shiites from all over the world who are in the minority of news coverage, and in view of your valuable knowledge, commitment, expertise, and scientific and media experiences, hereby I appoint you for two years as a member of the “Policymaking and Planning Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) News Agency-ABNA”.
Utilizing the existing capacities and using the opinions of experts and people with experience in this field, and observing the events of the Islamic and Shiite world, recognizing active and influential movements, reflecting on the political and social orientations of the target communities, mastery the new communication and information technologies on various critical situations (which are required for this position), in connection with the activities of this news agency, and with continuous monitoring and proper policymaking and planning, in order for the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly to achieve its goals in this news agency, you are expected to pay special attention.
It is hoped that by observing the divine piety and the change approach, in two areas of content and form, according to international standards and with your active presence and assistance, the field of more dynamic and effective activity of ABNA News Agency will be provided, and in the light of Imam Mahdi’s (a.s.) grace, following the high values of Islam and the school of AhlulBayt (a.s.), this news agency will be in its true position and will be an honest and comprehensive news source for the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.).
I ask God Almighty for your increasing success.
Reza Ramazani
Dr. Abdolhossein Kalantari, Chairman of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Gholamreza Sharifi, Member of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Dr. Abdolreza Rashed, Member of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Hojat al-Islam Mohammad Javad Zarean, Member of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Hojat al-Islam Mehdi Farmanian, Member of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Mohammad Mehdi Shariatmadar, Member of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Hojat al-Islam Gholami, Member of the Policymaking and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
Hojat al-Islam Sayed Alireza Hosseini Aref, Member of the Policy and Planning Council of ABNA News Agency
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